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Cookie Lady

Philip K. Dick’s The Cookie Lady explores the theme of innocence and exploitation through the predatory relationship between Mrs. Drew and the young boy Bubber. Mrs. Drew uses cookies to entice Bubber, draining his life force while temporarily transforming into a younger version of herself. The story serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of misplaced trust and the hidden harm in seemingly benign appearances.

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Jahnvi Shah
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104 views3 pages

Cookie Lady

Philip K. Dick’s The Cookie Lady explores the theme of innocence and exploitation through the predatory relationship between Mrs. Drew and the young boy Bubber. Mrs. Drew uses cookies to entice Bubber, draining his life force while temporarily transforming into a younger version of herself. The story serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of misplaced trust and the hidden harm in seemingly benign appearances.

Uploaded by

Jahnvi Shah
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Philip K.

Dick’s The Cookie Lady is a poignant and unsettling


exploration of innocence and its exploitation. The exploitation
begins subtly. Mrs. Drew initially entices Bernard with cookies, a
symbol of comfort and maternal care. As their interactions
progress, it becomes evident that Mrs. Drew is draining
Bernard’s life force, leaving him physically and emotionally
weakened. This act of exploitation highlights a predatory
relationship, where Bernard’s naivety becomes the means for
Mrs. Drew’s survival. Dick uses this dynamic to critique how
innocence can be manipulated by those in positions of power or
with ulterior motives.
The theme of innocence and exploitation is further reinforced
by the gradual transformation in Bernard’s character. Once full
of energy and enthusiasm, Bernard becomes increasingly
drained and weary. This symbolizes the loss of his innocence,
as he is unknowingly robbed of his vitality by someone he
trusted. The story serves as a cautionary tale, warning against
the dangers of misplaced trust and the potential for harm
hidden beneath seemingly benign appearances.
Bubber is a young teenage overweight boy, who has the
irresistible craving for the cookies. His mother also defines his
love for cookies as “He’d do anything for a plate of
cookies”. The sight of a woman drinking a big chocolate soda
make “Bubber’s mouth water”. Cold milk served with
freshly baked cookies is his favourite and Mrs. Drew knows it
very well and uses it for her own evil intentions.

Mrs. Drew is a very old lady, who thinks that youth


is “everything” and “what did the world mean to the old
?” So she desperately wants “to be young again”.
Surprisingly she has some unexplainable powers like a
sorceress that she can drew the youth and vitality from the
young boy.

Mrs. Drew lures Bubber with her tempting cookies. She


bakes cookies with “nuts and raisins in them” and serves
them with cold milk as Bubber likes. Bubber visits again and
again to satisfy his temptation for delicious cookies.
Every time the boy visits her and sits by her side to read
her books as she asked him to do, the old lady transforms into
a “matron of perhaps thirty”. But her transformation was
seemed to be temporary, as the boy moved away she has
become old, wrinkled and withered again.

Mrs. Drew manipulates the boy, Bubber saying, “It makes me


feel so young again to have you come visit”. She
pretends to be a nice and lonely old lady who longs for his
company and help. She insists on Bubber to visit her again.

Every time after her transformation the boy is left tired,


exhausted and sucked up, but Mrs. Drew doesn’t care about
him.

To make her transformation permanent and long lasting, Mrs.


Drew moved away the lamp and table, so that her chair is right
up next to the couch where the boy read her books.

When she got to know that, this is his “last time” to visit
her, she got furious and anxious. She wants to regain her youth
and vitality at any cost.

Usually she draws the youthful energy and life force from
the boy, by the sound of his voice. But she needs to touch him
to make the transformation complete and permanent. She
didn’t even think about the young boy as she is going to drain
out his energy in large amount and it can be dangerous for the
boy. She could feel a “pulsating vibrating youngness” of
the boy, “flowing between her fingers”. The “feel of
life” made her dizzy and unsteady.
After some time, she sees herself in the
mirror “Young” and “filled out with the sap of vigorous
youth”. She smiled and spun and overjoyed with her success.

After the transformation Mrs. Drew has become young,


energetic, warm and vibrant. On the other side the boy Bubber
is left tired, sucked up, “dull” and “a dead white”. He was
exhausted, “his head ached”, and he stopped every few
minutes, “rubbing his forehead and resting”.
He felt the cold wind “hammering at him, pushing and
plucking” at him. The cookie lady has stolen away his life
force and he was reduces to a bundle of “weeds and
rags” at the mercy of the wind.

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